De Minaur survives Van de Zandschulp scare to reach remifinals

In a grueling display of resilience at the ABN AMRO Open, top seed Alex de Minaur secured his place in the semifinals with a hard-fought comeback victory over local favorite Botic van de Zandschulp. The World No. 8 demonstrated the trademark “Demon” tenacity, navigating a tense three-set battle that concluded 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 on Friday afternoon in Rotterdam.

Van de Zandschulp, currently ranked No. 65, initially capitalized on the indoor conditions, upsetting the rhythm of the Australian to take the opening set. However, De Minaur’s superior conditioning and defensive coverage allowed him to survive a razor-thin second-set tiebreak before outlasting the Dutchman in a 7-5 decider.

The Australian’s path to the final four has been clinical; prior to this quarterfinal clash, he dispatched veteran Stan Wawrinka (6-4, 6-2) and the rising French star Arthur Fils (7-6 (3), 6-2) without dropping a set. Van de Zandschulp also enjoyed an impressive run, notably upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas and defeating Luka Pavlovic to reach this stage. De Minaur now prepares for a high-octane semifinal against Frenchman Ugo Humbert, as he looks to solidify his status as a perennial Top 10 threat.